back to gears...

[AngryScientist]

Well, my goal was to do 1000 miles fixed before grabbing the geared bike this spring. I made it to 750 and am ready to get the gears back. the club rides are heating up, and i just cant keep up (mainly going downhill) with the fixed anymore.

anyway, Saturday was the first ride on the newly coupled Serotta. As expected it rides great. Did a fast 50 on it with the "carbon crowd". although it really is heavy as a tank comparatively speaking, very happy with how this turned out.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bRKmG6BV19s/T41T3NgbexI/AAAAAAAAAbE/F1ElmIoOSCk/s640/IMG_0603.jpg

[R2D2]

Glad it worked out.
And I understand the tank comment too.
I ride my SLX Roberts with the carbon crowd and it's also heavy as a tank in comparison. And there are jumps between gears as it only has a 7 speed freewheel. But boy does it ride sweet!

[firerescuefin]

Nick..how heavy can that bike be?

Looks great btw.

[witcombusa]

Nick..how heavy can that bike be?

Looks great btw.

Who cares how heavy it is? Nothing worse in cycling than weight weenies...

Ride it

[AngryScientist]

you know, no matter how much I tell myself that the weight of the bike really only matters fractionally. when grinding up a hill with a bunch of guys on carbon bikes, it just creeps into my mind, and eats away at me: "look how much easier it is for them on those light bikes". it's a sickness.

[jpw]

Mine's a tank too .

The carbon crowd - light as a feather, as sick as a parrot.

[witcombusa]

you know, no matter how much I tell myself that the weight of the bike really only matters fractionally. when grinding up a hill with a bunch of guys on carbon bikes, it just creeps into my mind, and eats away at me: "look how much easier it is for them on those light bikes". it's a sickness.

fitness > carbon

[goonster]

nothing worse in cycling than weight weenies...
qft.

[goonster]

"look how much easier it is for them on those light bikes".
What do you think is going on in their heads, when they see the guy on the "tank" easily holding his spot near the front?

[cp43]

you know, no matter how much I tell myself that the weight of the bike really only matters fractionally. when grinding up a hill with a bunch of guys on carbon bikes, it just creeps into my mind, and eats away at me: "look how much easier it is for them on those light bikes". it's a sickness.

What always creeps into my mind is "If I lose 30 pounds, I'll still be 30 pounds heavier than those guys." This thought fails to motivate me to do two things: 1) lose 30 pounds, and 2) buy a lighter bike.

YMMV

:beer:

Chris

[rice rocket]

fitness > carbon

What happens when you have fitness AND lightness? I hear it's lots of winning.:hello:

[firerescuefin]

What happens when you have fitness AND lightness? I hear it's lots of winning.:hello:

You're wasting your time.

Retrogrouch is not susceptible to logic of any kind. His only answer will be a slight or put down that insinuates his paradigm on pretty much anything cycling related is superior to yours. Even if on occasion he is right, you'll probably not take notice, because by that point his contributions have become white noise due their constant howl.

Looking forward to seeing your steed in person Nick...really well done.

[Chance]

although it really is heavy as a tank comparatively speaking

At least that helps solve your "going downhill" problem.:)

[witcombusa]

You're wasting your time.

Retrogrouch is not susceptible to logic of any kind. His only answer will be a slight or put down that insinuates his paradigm on pretty much anything cycling related is superior to yours. Even if on occasion he is right, you'll probably not take notice, because by that point his contributions have become white noise due their constant howl.

Looking forward to seeing your steed in person Nick...really well done.

Not superior, just older for sure!

If the rider in question is not below 5 or 6 percent body fat, a pound or two of bike weight simply means nothing. Just simply saying the motor is where the "work" needs to be done not counting every gram as the holy grail...

[Chance]

Not superior, just older for sure!

If the rider in question is not below 5 or 6 percent body fat, a pound or two of bike weight simply means nothing. Just simply saying the motor is where the "work" needs to be done not counting every gram as the holy grail...

Can't quite follow why this is so. Why is a pound or two of bike weight more important to a guy at 5 to 6 percent body fat than to a woman with body fat in the 15 to 18 percent if both are of approximately equal weight?:confused:

As long as the pound or two represents the same percent of total weight it seems it would make the same amount of improvement (more or less depending on rider's "motor" size).

Granted a rider in the 15 to 18 percent range should be able to lose weight easier than a rider in the 5 to 6 range, but given that neither may lose weight at all (or that they'd lose the weight regardless), lighter bikes will always be that much lighter regardless of the riders' weight.

For what it's worth, bike weight doesn't personally concern me at all as long as they are reasonable, but that doesn't change the fact that 1 or 2 pounds is always 1 or 2 pounds regardless of the rider. Other than ability to lose more weight, it's hard to follow why there is a connection between rider and bike weights.

[Fixed]

You're wasting your time.

Retrogrouch ::confused:name calling ?

Even if on occasion he is right, you'll probably not take notice, because by that point his contributions have become white noise due their constant howl.

Looking forward to seeing your steed in person Nick...really well done.

that is mean and untrue guys who rode pre 80's bikes
have a whole different idea about how a bike can/should ride
i got nothing against new stuff but i still like the ride that some twenty pound bikes offer .
imho
cheers to a.s. you just switched to gears you need to adapt to that as well

[firerescuefin]

that is mean and untrue guys who rode pre 80's bikes
have a whole different idea about how a bike can/should ride
i got nothing against new stuff but i still like the ride that some twenty pound bikes offer .
imho
cheers to a.s. you just switched to gears you need to adapt to that as well

Fixed..."retrogrouch" has nothing to do with what bike you ride. BTW, I love classic bikes as well as the guys that ride them for the most part...What it refers to is the guy that descends on any thread he can find and drop a out of context comment that attempts to devalue others opinions and elevate their own.

Added: At the end of the day, I probably should have bitten my tongue.

[witcombusa]

Can't quite follow why this is so. Why is a pound or two of bike weight more important to a guy at 5 to 6 percent body fat than to a woman with body fat in the 15 to 18 percent if both are of approximately equal weight?:confused:

As long as the pound or two represents the same percent of total weight it seems it would make the same amount of improvement (more or less depending on rider's "motor" size).

Granted a rider in the 15 to 18 percent range should be able to lose weight easier than a rider in the 5 to 6 range, but given that neither may lose weight at all (or that they'd lose the weight regardless), lighter bikes will always be that much lighter regardless of the riders' weight.

For what it's worth, bike weight doesn't personally concern me at all as long as they are reasonable, but that doesn't change the fact that 1 or 2 pounds is always 1 or 2 pounds regardless of the rider. Other than ability to lose more weight, it's hard to follow why there is a connection between rider and bike weights.

It's realative to fitness, no? Did you not see the "fitness > weight"?

"Ability to lose weight"?

It's not an ability, you eat less and do more. Works every time. I choose to do more so I can eat more, but that's another story....

[witcombusa]

Fixed..."retrogrouch" has nothing to do with what bike you ride. BTW, I love classic bikes as well as the guys that ride them for the most part...What it refers to is the guy that descends on any thread he can find and drop a out of context comment that attempts to devalue others opinions and elevate your own.

How have I devalued others opinions? And I'm certainly not telling anyone to ride old bikes because they are better. They're just different, simpler. You couldn't pay me to ride a plastic bike, they don't interest me. So what.
New isn't better either, again it's just different. That's why they come in all shapes and sizes.

I do find the "new this week" equipment folks entertaining though...but if it works for them great.

[ultraman6970]

Is not the bike is the rider...

By the way what multiplication (gears) are u using for the fixie??

Have you done 60+ miles solo using the fixie already?

Depending on the speed of the group you can draft big time using the fixie evetho probably the rpms will be really high but thats the idea behind fix gears. I give you that going down the guys goes faster but in flats and small hills you should be able to keep up with them np depending on the gears you are using.

The 1st thing coming back to gears is that you will way for the opposite pedal to go up :D Your cadence if you did the right work will be a lot more, pedaling should be more rounded, and you should be shifting less, if you are shifting more then there is a problem.

[smead]

Who cares how heavy it is? Nothing worse in cycling than weight weenies...

Ride it

Just because someone is curious what a build weighs in at doesn't make them a weight weenie ..

[john903]

To the OP original post I just did the same thing today. I haven't ridden my geared bike since November and have 1000 mi now. So I broke out the Hampsten for this morning commute, oh man how I love my Hampsten and fixed gear riding for the past 6 months really helped me. Now in 3 more hours I have my commute home and am really looking forward to it.

[witcombusa]

Just because someone is curious what a build weighs in at doesn't make them a weight weenie ..

sure it does, or the thought wouldn't even enter your mind.

[smead]

sure it does, or the thought wouldn't even enter your mind.

What is interesting/important to some is not to others, why judge? Sometimes it's fun to see what a build weighs out at when you're done., especially on vintage rides. There was huge interest in a recent thread about the weight of steel framed builds. I personally find it fun to see what I can build up on a vintage frame w/ modern bits and see how close I can get to a new plastic bike in terms of girth and overall performance. And don't try to tell me a 23 pounder climbs and feels the same as a 16 pound steelie. If I can feel and appreciate that difference, then yes, call me a weight weenie.

[witcombusa]

What is interesting/important to some is not to others, why judge? Sometimes it's fun to see what a build weighs out at when you're done., especially on vintage rides. There was huge interest in a recent thread about the weight of steel framed builds. I personally find it fun to see what I can build up on a vintage frame w/ modern bits and see how close I can get to a new plastic bike in terms of girth and overall performance. And don't try to tell me a 23 pounder climbs and feels the same as a 16 pound steelie. If I can feel and appreciate that difference, then yes, call me a weight weenie.

It would never occur to me to build a vintage frame up with current kit. If that's what you like then it's good for you.

[tannhauser]

sure it does, or the thought wouldn't even enter your mind.

Maybe you should take a tablespoon of olive oil and try it again later.

[Chance]

It's realative to fitness, no? Did you not see the "fitness > weight"?

"Ability to lose weight"?

It's not an ability, you eat less and do more. Works every time. I choose to do more so I can eat more, but that's another story....

Guess that it doesn't come across that way to me. A two-pound bike weight savings is two pounds less whether the rider loses 5 pounds of fat or not. If the rider doesn't lose weight he/she will be two pounds lighter. And if he/she loses 5 pounds then the total is 7 pounds. Either way the 2-pound savings is there no matter what. They seem very independent to me. And one could even argue that a less fit (less powerful) rider will benefit from lower weight even more.

In the end we should buy and ride what makes us happy so it doesn't really matter. Your point of view on fitness versus bike weight just seemed interesting. Obviously we are in agreement that riders should be as lean as possible but to me that doesn't imply that fat riders shouldn't also try to lower equipment weight. Not as a substitute but in addition to fat weight. :beer: